Emergency Electrician: Tell-Tale Signs Your Home’s Electrical Switchboard Needs Emergency Repairs | Wilmington, NC
Photo By Iryna_L at istock
A switchboard, also called the central hub of electricity, distributes electricity from the main power line to all circuits that power lights and electrical appliances in your home.
Homeowners can fix some electrical problems, including changing defective bulbs. However, only a qualified emergency electrician should fix some electrical issues, such as faulty switchboards, because of their complexity.
You don’t want to try fixing a damaged switchboard by yourself and mess everything up, including putting your life in danger. A defective switchboard in your home means you may not get power until an electrician sorts out the problem.
Ensure you look for an emergency electrician in Wilmington, NC, immediately you notice flaws in your switchboard to avoid any inconveniences.
This blog post contains some indicators to help you know it’s time to get a technician to troubleshoot your home’s switchboard.
Old or Outdated Switchboard
Residential properties built over 20 years ago may have worn-out or old-fashioned switchboards. The modern world has rapid advancements in technology, meaning inventors develop new electrical appliances every day. The appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners, require more power to run.
Standard and old switchboards can’t handle such appliances since they are designed to manage low-power consuming, old school appliances. Additionally, you may have had room additions to your home recently. Having an old switchboard can trigger electrical supply problems to all the outlets in your home.
It’s because the existing switchboard size can only handle the electrical requirements of the initial building before the room additions. You should look for an electrician if you recently bought high energy-consuming electrical appliances or have additional construction on your premises. The electrician will assess your power supply needs and recommend the correct size and quality of switchboard for your home.
Flickering Lights
Flickering lights can be a nuisance, especially when you’ve invited friends or family for dinner in your home. Apart from that, they can irritate your eyes. The usual cause of flickering lights is faulty bulbs, but there might be a hidden problem, especially if the issue is persistent even after getting new quality bulbs.
You should call in an emergency electrician if the problem becomes unbearable. The electrician can run a quick diagnostic test on all components of your electrical system, including wiring connections and switches. A damaged switchboard can also be the cause of flickering lights.
It often happens when the switchboard can’t supply enough power throughout your home to meet the electricity demand of all appliances. After a thorough assessment, the electrician should perform the necessary replacements or repairs of the faulty components of your home’s electrical system.
Burning Smell Near the Switchboard
A burning odor inside or around your switchboard is enough to alert any resident in Wilmington, NC, that an emergency electrician is needed to check it. The problem usually occurs due to overheating caused by overloads, faulty wiring, and worn-out cables.
Electrical fires may emerge if you don’t seek help from an electrician to have the whole unit replaced. You can prevent sustaining injuries and incurring expensive medical bills or losing the investment that took you years to build by simply talking to an electrician after you notice wood or plastic burning smells.
Tripping Circuit Breakers
Circuit breakers play a special role in the electrical system. They protect all plugged-in appliances from damage by power surges. However, consistently tripping circuit breakers could be a red flag, indicating your switchboard can’t allow adequate flow of electricity into your home.
Some homeowners would prefer to make trips to garages and basements to flip their breakers back on rather than getting an emergency electrician to troubleshoot the defects. Frequent circuit breaker tripping may imply you need to upgrade your switchboard.
You can organize with a skilled electrician to guide you on which size and type are suitable for your home, and request installation services.
Fused Switchboards
Switchboards with fuses are as safe as those with circuit breakers since their function is to stop electricity flow after detecting any sudden change in power supply. However, fuse-based switchboards are expensive since the fuses blow out often, requiring replacements.
Homeowners with these systems have to replace the fuses, contrary to those with circuit breaker-based switchboards that only need the switches to be flipped back on. Some folks replace the normal-sized fuses with large ones to prevent the inconvenience of replacing burnt fuses often.
This solution can only last for a short period since the huge fuses allow too much energy to flow through the connected circuit, triggering electrical fires. To prevent such problems, you should get an emergency electrician to replace your fuse-based switchboard with a circuit breaker one.
Switchboard Is Rusty and Produces Strange Sounds
Switchboards should operate silently under normal circumstances, and the usual sound should be occasional clicks when the circuit breaker pops. However, while inspecting your switchboard, you may hear buzzing or hissing sounds from the unit.
These sounds aren’t normal and should prompt you to get an emergency electrician promptly to assess the defect and fix it. Possible reasons for the weird sounds could be loose electrical connections or bad wires.
Additionally, rust should be a clear sign your switchboard may be damaged. The rust indicates water leaks from perforated roofs or poor sealing entering the unit. It would be best if you talked to an emergency electrician to fix the issue because the water may come in contact with components of the switchboard, leading to electrical hazards.
Get Prompt Switchboard Services Today!
Mister Sparky of Wilmington has licensed electricians that handle electrical emergencies in Wilmington, NC, and beyond. We offer switchboard installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement services.
Additionally, our emergency electricians provide installation solutions for carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. They are available on-location, 24-hours a day. Call us today for all your residential electrical needs, and we will customize a service plan that addresses your issues.